


SANta blues

by PastelGreywaren



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Babybones, Christmas, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, giftmas, i guess, its not like heavy angst but little papyrus does cry, sans dresses like santa to make pap feel better, skelebros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 14:30:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17143502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelGreywaren/pseuds/PastelGreywaren
Summary: Papyrus sneaks out to watch for Santa all night. When he comes back empty-handed and broken-hearted, Sans has a plan to bring back his Giftmas cheer that just might work.(AKA the plot of that one spongebob christmas episode where squidward dresses like santa)





	SANta blues

Sans knew Giftmas was always Papyrus’ favorite holiday. Sure, it was all about spending time with family and showing loved ones how much you care, but his little brother sort of honed in on the whole Santa bit. Since he could read, the kid dutifully left that lovable red intruder a plate of spaghetti on their coffee table before Sans tucked him in for the night. The elder did his best to make sure the holiday maintained its wonder for Papyrus, sneaking down in the middle of the night to take a few bites of cold spaghetti, then bundling up to bring a few gifts from “Santa” to the Giftmas tree in the center of town. However, he didn’t account for Papyrus’ growing cleverness as he got older. 

 

Papyrus has just lost a tooth the morning before that fateful day(“Do you think Santa and the Tooth Fairy will come at the same time? Do I have to make extra spaghetti?!”), giving him an adorable gap-toothed grin for the metaphorical Giftmas cards. He was getting taller, too, but he was still short enough for Sans to easily trap him in a headlock for a playful noogie.

 

“It’s time for little skeletons to go to bed, bro,” Sans began, leading Papyrus by the hand up the stairs to tuck him in for the night. “You wanna be chipper enough to see what Santa brought in the morning, right?”

 

Papyrus smiled sweetly; something he did often, but this one was a little sweeter than normal. Was he hiding something? “Yes! I need to get my rest to open my gifts bright and early! The early skeleton gets the bird! Or... something!”

 

Papyrus clambered into his bed, but when Sans picked up their storybook of choice for the night ( _Fluffy_ _Bunny’s_ _Special_ _Giftmas_ ), Papyrus laid a tiny hand on his. “Not tonight, Sans,” Papyrus started, and Sans furrowed his brow. Papyrus had never refused a bedtime story. “I need all the rest I can get. Good night, brother!”

 

Sans was silent for a moment before shrugging, putting the book away and pulling the blankets up to his brother’s chin. “If you say so, Pap. What? You’re too big for me to read you stories now?” He reached out, giving his little brother a rough skull-rub. The smaller skeleton attempted to squirm away from him, letting out an indignant “nyeh!”.

 

“No! I just... think I want to be more energized for tomorrow! That’s all!”

 

“Welp.” Sans shrugged once more, ceasing the torment of Papyrus in favor of heading for his own room. “You’re pretty responsible, bro. Good on you. I’ll see you in the morning.” He flashed a grin, and with that, he was off to tuck himself in. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Papyrus was acting weird, though. He wouldn’t lose sleep over it because it wasn’t like he was sleeping anyway. He could just be super excited about Giftmas... Sans kinda felt bad; he just barely scraped by this year with enough to get Papyrus something decent. He didn’t want to disappoint the kid. Maybe he’d just keep an extra close eye on him tomorrow.

 

Sans hopped into his own bed and pulled an old book out from under it, opening it carefully so as not to lose the pages that had come loose from their binding. He’d chill until midnight, then he’d initiate Mission _Sans_ ta. Heh.

 

————

 

Papyrus tugged his scarf tightly around himself, fastening his boots before he opened his door as quietly as he possibly could. He was going to see Santa tonight, he just knew it! He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of sneaking a peek of him sooner! It was relatively easy to do, too. All he had to do was wait by the Giftmas tree, and he’d surely see Santa before morning. It was a foolproof plan courtesy of the genius Great Papyrus!

 

He looked down the hall toward Sans’ room, and upon deeming the coast all clear, he closed his door and darted down the stairs, almost forgetting himself in his haste to rush out of the house. He caught the door before it slammed, grinning at his wit, and took off in the direction of the town square.

 

———

 

Light from the morning street-lamps streaming in through his window awoke Sans, and the skeleton groaned before slinging an arm over his eyes and rolling over. There was a thump then, and it took about three seconds for it to register that it was Giftmas morning, and that thump came from the book Sans fell asleep reading. Eye-sockets now wide open, Sans jerked the blankets from his body and scrambled out of bed, Tokyo Drifting across the floor in his haste to make it to Papyrus’ room. _Please_ _don’t_ _be_ _awake_ , _please_ _don’t_ _be_ _awake_ , he repeated internally, righting himself before slowly opening his brother’s door.

 

“Bro? Rise and shine, it’s the big day,” he said softly, squinting through the darkness. The blinds hadn’t been raised yet, so Papyrus must still be asleep. “Um... it looks like Santa left our gifts in my room instead of under the tree. Maybe he was in a rush. Or maybe he couldn’t _rein_  in his excitement. Heh.” The room was still completely silent, and Sans frowned. He couldn’t even hear Papyrus shifting around. Was he that tired? “Uh. I’m gonna go ahead and turn on the light. You come down whenever you’re ready.” Sans blindly felt the wall until he touched the switch, flicking it and illuminating the room. He blinked a few times to adjust to the brightness, then turned to his brother’s bed. However, at the sight of it, dread settled heavy in the pit of his SOUL. Papyrus was gone.

 

Sans almost never ran, but he was sprinting down the stairs two at a time, ready to tear the house apart looking for his brother. At the base of the steps, he paused to calm himself, taking a few deep breaths. He was overreacting. Maybe Papyrus was just chilling in the kitchen or something.

 

He searched every room, called his name, even peered inside the fridge and was promptly accosted by about twenty bags of Chisps, but there was no sign of Papyrus anywhere. Okay. Not overreacting. Sans threw on his coat and a pair of snow boots, then vaulted himself out the door and into the Snowdin chill.

 

He’d make his rounds through town before resorting to knocking on doors. No need to cause a panic if Papyrus was just out building a snowman with the other kids. He breezed past that bunny girl without saying congrats on her new little brother, and nearly tripped over two puppy kids sniffing at something in the snow. The Giftmas tree was in sight now, surrounded by a mountain of gifts that would rival Ebott itself. Sans could make out a figure before the tree, and he felt his SOUL drop.

 

His baby brother was standing there, looking weary and defeated as he stared at the tree. At the sound of Sans’ rapid footsteps crunching in the snow, the little skeleton turned, and the elder nearly stopped in his tracks. Fat tears the orange hue of his magic rolled down Papyrus’ cheeks. He looked exhausted, but more evident was his devastation. Sans felt like the scum of the earth.

 

“Sans...” Papyrus hiccuped out, taking a few steps before he completely dissolved into sobs. Sans met him half way (more like three-quarters, actually) and knelt in the snow to pull his brother to his chest. Papyrus’ small frame shook with sobs, and Sans felt hot tears welling up in his own eyes.

 

“Papyrus, I am so—“

 

“He never came,” Papyrus interrupted, breaking out into a coughing fit before resuming his crying. Sans heard him sniffling, knew his coat was probably covered in tears and snot, but he didn’t care. His baby brother sounded pitiful. “S-Santa never— never came... I w-waited a-all night...”

 

Then it all made sense. He wasn’t sad that he couldn’t find any gifts from Santa to him under the tree; he was sad that he never saw Santa.

 

“Oh, Pap, you’ve been here all night?”

 

He felt Papyrus nod against him, little hands fisting in his coat. Sans stood, lifting Papyrus with him and settling him comfortably in his arms. He patted the younger monster’s back, tracing soothing shapes into his bulky sweater. He didn’t quite know what to say. What /can/ you say to a little kid who just waited up all night for Santa Claus and never saw him once? Sans didn’t want to blow it. Whatever belief Papyrus still had was probably holding on by one very tattered thread. He’d no-doubt seen other families carrying gifts to the tree through the night... God, Sans felt awful.

 

Halfway home, he noticed that Papyrus’ sobs had quieted, replaced with even breathing and limp arms. The poor thing had fallen asleep. What was he gonna do? Tell him the same thing he said in his empty room earlier? ... Maybe. But Papyrus wasn’t a dumb kid by any stretch of the imagination. He might see right through it. He held onto his brother with one arm as he let them into the house, carrying the sleeping skeleton to his room and gently laying him in his bed. As he was turning off the light and shutting the door, he paused as an idea hit him like a brick. Oh... Oh, that was just just risky enough to work...

 

———

 

“Santa?!”

 

Sans gave his best boisterous chuckle as he watched Papyrus descend the steps, scrubbing at his eye-sockets sleepily. For effect, he patted the pillow-belly he’d created under the velvety red suit he’d donned just half an hour before. He was about 90 percent sure the entire town thought he was crazy, as he scrambled around Snowdin like a mad man knocking on every door he could find to ask for vaguely Santa-like articles of clothing.

 

The nice woman who ran the Inn lent him her husband’s red coat. The monster in the house that was always locked tossed their red stocking cap to him from their mail slot. The red pants came from the librabian, who tossed them unceremoniously into his face to get him to be quiet. Sans crafted his own beard from laundry lint, cotton balls, and tape, and even donned his old wire-frame glasses for added Santa flair.

 

Papyrus looked awestruck, eyesockets wide as he stared up at Sans. Er, SANta. Heh.

 

“Are... are you really here..?”

 

“I am, Papyrus. And I have a few gifts just for you.” He did his best to deepen his voice, and bent forward to tap Papyrus’ nasal bone with one gloved finger. The little skeleton giggled, covering his nose with his hands.

 

“You know my name?! Wowie! But... um... Santa...” Papyrus began, staring down at his feet. “You’re late.”

 

Oof. Kid liked to go for the neck. Sans’ chuckle grew nervous. “Ah, yes, well... I knew I had to leave the best house for last! Yes. Because... I wanted to end my travels on a good note, with good spaghetti and an even better little monster.” He patted Papyrus’ head, lurching back in surprise as his little brother promptly attached himself to Sans.

 

“That’s okay, Santa. I forgive you! I don’t even need gifts! Well... I really like gifts, but... I like you and my brother more! Oh!” He seems to remember something, grinning brightly. “I have to get Sans!”

 

“N-no, need, Papyrus. I passed Sans on my way here.”

 

“He isn’t here...?”

 

“He will be back soon. I hear... I hear he is getting you some Nice Cream to celebrate!”

 

Papyrus positively beamed at that, hands pressed to his cheeks. “Oh! Wowie... Sans really _is_  the best brother.”

 

Sans felt his chest tighten. “W-well... I’ll have to be on my way, Papyrus. I hope you enjoy your gifts.”

 

Papyrus nodded, his chest puffing out as he straightened his posture. “Yes! Thank you again, Santa. Sans and I will enjoy our gifts!”

 

Sans’ smile softened as he gave Papyrus one last pat on the head before letting himself out. Now to figure out how he’d return all the stuff he was wearing...

 

———

 

Sans was about ready to collapse in bed when he got back home, a nice cream sundae in his hands.

 

“Hey, Pap, I got you— whoa!”

 

A sudden weight on his side startled him, and he glanced down to find his brother clinging to his side. He looked up at Sans and laughed gleefully, then nuzzled his face back into Sans’ shirt.

 

“You’ll never guess who I just saw, Sans!

 

“Yeah? Tell me about ‘em, bro.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! I wanted to get into the holiday cheer a lil bit more before the actual thing happened, so this fic was born! Also I may or may not have watched that spongebob episode at like midnight last night and cried when spongebob cried sooo that’s me  
> Anywho, comments and kudos are very much appreciated! <3


End file.
